Quarterly Curriculum February - April 2016

Last quarter was very touch and go almost up until the very end. Then, thankfully, FINALLY, everything fell into place. That made me VERY eager to move on to a full schedule this quarter.

This quarter I was very excited to bring back "core" subjects and "secondary" subjects. I had always loved our rotating schedule and was very sad when I had to retire it. It was supposed to be a temporary retirement, no more than a year, but it wound up being longer because I wasn't ready to bring it back until we brought Spanish back and I wasn't ready to bring Spanish back until at least one child mastered reading. Yes, you read that right, we are FINALLY bringing back Spanish! And yes, not only has Optimus Prime mastered reading but Bumblebee has really advanced these past three months. He's not there yet but he is close enough that I feel confident to bring back Spanish!

Optimus Prime:

Schoolwork on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday.

Core Subjects:

Math - Addition, subtraction, time, money, etc. 
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - No workbooks. This quarter to help Optimus Prime catch up he's doing worksheets tailor-made for him.
Number of Pages - 3

Spelling - Spelling words & units practiced in print and cursive.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - None, just loose worksheets.
Number of Pages - 2

English - Phonics and reading comprehension.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Brain Quest Workbook Grade 2 (Workman Publishing), Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 2 (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 3

Secondary Subjects:

Science - Learning all about animals, insects, and classifications.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Exploring Animals (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

History/Geography/Religion - Norse Mythology and King Arthur.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths (New York Review Children's Collection), Tales of King Arthur (Anness Publishing).
Number of Pages - N/A

Logic/Art - Same/different, mazes, dot-to-dots, coloring etc.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Random books.
Number of Pages - 4

Spanish - Learning Spanish
Days - Every three days
Textbooks - Exploring Spanish (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

Handwriting - Basic composition and handwriting.
Days - Every three days
Textbooks - Scooby-Doo Printing Practice (Bendon), Spider-Man Printing Practice (Bendon).
Number of Pages - 2-3

Other "Subjects":

Reading - Reading chapter (!!!) books on his own.

Bumblebee:

Schoolwork on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday.

Core Subjects:

Math - Addition, subtraction, time, money, multiplication, etc. 
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Sponge Bob Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Princess Addition & Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Spider-Man Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Princess Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Time and Money (Bendon).
Number of Pages - 3

Spelling - Spelling words & units practiced in print and cursive.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - None, just loose worksheets.
Number of Pages - 2

English - Phonics and reading comprehension.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Brain Quest Workbook Grade 2 (Workman Publishing), Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 2 (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 3

Secondary Subjects:

Science - Learning all about animals, insects, and classifications.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Exploring Animals (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

History/Geography/Religion - Norse Mythology and King Arthur.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths (New York Review Children's Collection), Tales of King Arthur (Anness Publishing).
Number of Pages - N/A

Logic/Art - Same/different, mazes, dot-to-dots, coloring etc.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Random books.
Number of Pages - 4

Spanish - Learning Spanish
Days - Every three days
Textbooks - Exploring Spanish (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

Multiplication - Practicing multiplication and division.
Days - Every three days
Textbooks - No workbook. This quarter Bumblebee has a second math class with just multiplication to help him get the concept down better with tailor made worksheets for him.
Number of Pages - 2-3

Other "Subjects":

Reading - Reading level 1 and some level 2 books on his own.

Scooby-Doo:

Schoolwork on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday.

Core Subjects:

Spelling - Spelling words & units practiced in print.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - None, just loose worksheets.
Number of Pages - 1

Secondary Subjects:

Science - Learning all about animals, insects, and classifications.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Exploring Animals (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

History/Geography/Religion - Norse Mythology and King Arthur.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths (New York Review Children's Collection), Tales of King Arthur (Anness Publishing).
Number of Pages - N/A

Logic/Art - Same/different, mazes, dot-to-dots, coloring etc.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Random books.
Number of Pages - 5

English - Phonics and reading comprehension.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Beginning Sounds (School Zone), Letter Stories (Mead), Phonics (Bendon), Disney Phonics and Reading (Bendon).
Number of Pages - 4

Addition - Basic addition problems to help him learn the concept. 
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Numbers and Counting (Bendon), Let's Grow Smart Workbook: Numbers 1-12 (Dalmatian Press), Disney Numbers and Counting (Bendon), Mathematics Practice Workbook K (Silver Burdett Ginn)
Number of Pages - 4

Other "Subjects":

Reading - Reading together every day.

Some final notes:

• Spelling units are directly tied to what we are reading.
• For this quarter we have two Concept Weeks and they are tied into our History/Geography/Religion class and our Science class. There were no Concept Week posts.
• One of Optimus Prime's "secondary" subjects was Handwriting because his penmanship desperately needed it. Bumblebee did a second Math class during this time period where he just focused on multiplication. 
• The local elementary school has denied Scooby-Doo all of his therapy since we will not enroll him there in pre-k. He is, however, still doing speech therapy twice a week.
• Even though Scooby-Doo is only at pre-k age he will be doing kindergarten work this quarter as well as some pre-k.
• Scooby-Doo starts Concept Weeks this quarter. They are tied into his Science schoolwork.

A Break

I know it has been a bit since I posted and it will be a bit longer still. My husband has requested a divorce and I am unsure how this is going to effect our family or my homeschooling our children. I will obviously have to get a full time job now to support me & my kids and right this moment while I still want to homeschool I am unsure if that is even possible in the future. We are, at the very least, going to continue on with our summer quarter. It will be greatly abridged, though. We need to pack, I need to job hunt, we need to contact lawyers and/or mediators, etc. Plus we have decided that my boys and I should go to New York to visit my family for a couple of weeks so we can have that support during this upsetting time. I should resume posting by the middle of April.

Right now please just keep us in your thoughts.

The Flash

Synopsis - Barry Allen, aka The Flash, aka The Fastest Man Alive is a police forensic scientist who has an alter-superhero ego called The Flash. He runs around Central City solving crimes and taking down super villains.

Wandering Falcon - "I'm not a huge fan of the Flash (I prefer superheroes without superpowers) but these books were pretty good."

Optimus Prime - "I really like Weather Wizard and believe me he did none of the crimes that day. I also liked Fire and Ice. Fire and Ice, they are opposites, but when Captian Cold and Heat Wave shot at each other and end up making a two story building don't you think about running through because half of you will become ash and dust and the other side will become so frozen and cold it will make you break into a hundred thousand pieces. So unless you have a force field you can't get through. And trust me a big suit of armor will not help one little bit because one side will melt and your shoulder will get burned a lot lot lot and the other side will freeze so much that your armor will break. But actually maybe by that point in time you could have gotten through to the other side and survived."

Bumblebee - "I liked The Attack of Professor Zoom! I liked when Captain Cold froze the volcano. And, I liked the robots."

The Flash**

1. The Attack of Professor Zoom
2. Captain's Cold Arctic Eruption
3. Gorilla Warfare
4. Wrath of the Weather Wizard
5. Captain Boomerang's Comeback!
6. Trickster's Bubble Trouble
7. Clock King's Time Bomb
8. Master of Mirrors!
9. Ice and Fire
10. Killer Kaleidoscope
11. Shell Shocker
12. Shadow of the Sun

** These books are not numbered, so they are listed in the order that we read them.  Also, for these books I have not listed an author since they are too much like comic books with multiple authors, illustrators, and creators.

Bit of a Break

Taking a week or two off. Will be back soon with more posts!!!

Scooby-Doo Mystery!

Synopsis - Once again (after this series and this series) Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo go around stumbling upon - and solving - mysteries.

Wandering Falcon - "I gotta say, I was pretty bummed after we finished our last two Scooby-Doo chapter book series so I was so pretty excited to discover this one! Then I was bummed when I found out this series only had three books. However, I gotta say, they weren't as well written as the last two series we read so maybe that was why there was only three? However, despite that, they were pretty good. It was just a big letdown that there were not more. Maybe one day they'll make more - and if so we will read them - but I doubt it since the last one was written almost three years ago."

Optimus Prime - "The books are amazing."

Bumblebee - "I LOVED 'Pirate Cove,' the hotel was creepy, and Ice Giant (SPOILER) used salt."

Scooby-Doo Mystery by Kate Howard

1. The Hotel of Horrors
2. The Frozen Giant
3. The Haunting of Pirate Cove

The Magic School Bus

I just gotta ask, who doesn't absolutely love Ms. Frizzle?!?!?!? I'm pretty sure "no one" is the correct answer!

Synopsis - This series follows around Ms. Frizzle and her class as they go on wacky, outrageous - and completely implausible, often overnight on the other side of the world - science-based field trips.

Wandering Falcon - "I loved Ms. Frizzle as a kid (even though I was a bit too old for her) and I love her even more as an adult! Some of the books were better written than others, and some seemed to overlap a bit (like "Twister Trouble" and "Electric Storm" which both covered thunderstorms and tornadoes in their own ways) but overall they were very enjoyable and even taught me some things I had no clue about. And the amount of random information my kids retained is unreal!!! Bumblebee STILL goes on about the first full moon after Christmas and how that's the only time of year some plant or animal in Australia's great barrier reef lays it's eggs - and we read that book months ago. Optimus Prime STILL goes on about their bat adventure even though we must of read that book almost a year ago now! They were very good books and my boys all loved them."

Optimus Prime - "They are good. Okay, they are great. I liked the bats!"

Bumblebee - "I LOVED all of them! Especially the dinosaur one!"

The Magic School Bus Chapter Books by Eva Moore (EM), Jennifer Johnston (JJ), Anne Capeci (AC), Rebecca Carmi (RC), Judith Stamper (JS), Nancy White (NW), Martin Schwabacher (MS), and Gail Herman (GH)

1. The Truth About Bats (EM)
2. The Search for the Missing Bones (EM)
3. The Wild Whale Watch (EM)
4. Space Explorers (EM)
5. Twister Trouble (EM)
6. The Giant Germ (EM)
7. The Great Shark Escape (JJ)
8. Penguin Puzzle (EM)
9. Dinosaur Detective (JS)
10. Expedition Down Under (RC)
11. Insect Invaders (AC)
12. Amazing Magnetism (RC)
13. Polar Bear Patrol (JS)
14. Electric Storm (AC)
15. Voyage to the Volcano (JS)
16. Butterfly Battle (NW)
17. Food Chain Frenzy (AC)
18. The Fishy Field Trip (MS)
19. Color Day Relay (GH)
20. Rocky Road Trip (JS)

Concept Weeks #52-55/21-24: New Years Day and the Chinese Lunar New Year, Rainforests, the Inca, Maya, and Aztec, & Robots

Like I said in my last post, this is our final Concept Week post. For a while now these posts have been out of date but I've been clinging to them out of habit. I'm not sure what direction the new posts will go in but I'll hopefully have it figured out by the end of February.

Now, this month, together Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, & Scooby-Doo worked on four Concept Weeks. They were New Years Day and the Chinese Lunar New Year, Rainforests, the Inca, Maya, and Aztec, and Robots.

For each Concept Week they had a lapbook filled with information and fun worksheets and each day I read them a book (or two or three) pertaining to the topic. Some of the books were fun story books, others were full of information about the topic. It depended on what the library (and we) had.